ISLAM

Islam
is a religion that claims to be the culmination of Judaism and Christianity
that began with the patriarch Abraham through his son Ishmael. It claims to
have been completed by the prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century
as was revealed to him by the angel Gabriel and recorded in the Koran (Quran).
Islam claims 1/5 of the world's population or approximately 1 billion followers
worldwide (5 million in America).

I.
Who Was Muhammad?

ØBorn in Mekkah (Mecca) AD 570-633

ØParents died at an early age and
he was raised by his uncle of the tribe of Quraysh: "the most powerful
and prominent tribe in all of Arabia in the Prophet's era. The Quraysh were
the keepers of the Ka'bah and therefore one of the wealthiest and most powerful
tribes.

ØAt age 40 the angel Gabriel appeared
to him in a vision giving him the revelation of the Quran over the next 23
years.

ØYear AD 622 persecution by the Quraysh
drove Muhammad from Makkah to Madinah (260 miles North).

ØSome years later he returned to Makkah
to forgive his enemies and establish Islam, dying at age 63.

II.
Basic Muslim Beliefs:

The
5 Pillars: "are the framework of the Muslim life: faith, prayer,
concern for the needy, self-purification, and the pilgrimage to Makkah for
those who are able."

1)
Faith: This declaration of faith is called the Shahada, a simple formula
which all the faithful pronounce."There is no god, but Allah and Muhammad
is his messenger"

2)
Prayer:Salat is the name for the obligatory prayers which are performed
five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God. These
five prayers contain verses from the Quran, and are said in Arabic, the language
of the Revelation, but personal supplication can be offered in one's own language.
Prayers are said at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall, and thus
determine the rhythm of the entire day

3)
Alms Giving: The word zakat means both 'purification' and 'growth'. Our
possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need,
and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages
new growth. Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakat individually. For
most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent
of one's capital.

4)
The Fast: is regarded principally as a method of self purification. By
cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, even for a short time, a fasting
person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry as well as growth in one's
spiritual life.

5)
Pilgrimage: The annual pilgrimage to Makkah - the Hajj - is an obligation
only for those who are physically and financially able to perform it. Nevertheless,
about two million people go to Makkah each year. The annual Hajj begins in
the twelfth month of the Islamic year (which is lunar, not solar, so that
Hajj and Ramadan fall sometimes in summer, sometimes in winter). Pilgrims
wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away distinctions of class
and culture, so that all stand equal before God. The rites of the Hajj, which
are of Abrahamic origin, include circling the Ka'ba seven times, and going
seven times between the mountains of Safa and Marwa as did Hagar during her
search for water. Then the pilgrims stand together on the wide plain of Arafa
and join in prayers for God's forgiveness, in what is often thought of as
a preview of the Last Judgment.

III.
What So Wrong With Islam?

"But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than
that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before,
so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
ye have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8-9 KJV)

1)
Islam follows the WRONG gospel! Muhammad claims to follow the teaching
of Abraham through Ishmael when the Bible said that God would bless all nations
through Isaac's seed not Ishmael and that seed would be in CHRIST!

"But
my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear
unto thee at this set time in the next year." (Gen 17:21 KJV)

"Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds,
as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ."
(Gal 3:16)

2) Islam says:

Jesus
is not the Son of God.

Jesus
did not die for our sins.

Jesus
was not crucified.

Jesus
was not divine as well as human.

Jesus
is not the Saviour.

These
are issues of the Quran out-and-out contradicting the Bible. See Suras
4:157; 5:19, 75; 9:30

3)
Muhammad was a sinner! Many Muslims believe that he was sinless however
he said himself:

In
Sura 18:10, Allah tells Muhammad: "Say, I am but a man like yourselves."

4)
Muhammad was not sure if he was going to heaven himself: The Prophet said,
"By Allah, though I am the Apostle of Allah, yet I do not know what Allah
will do to me." (Hadith vol. 5, no. 266)

5)
The Quran gives four conflicting accounts of how Muhammad was called
to be a prophet--(1) In Suras 53:2-18 and 81:19-24, Allah personally appeared.
(2) In Suras 16:102 and 26:192-194 he was called by "the Holy Spirit". (3)
In Sura 15:8 the angels announced his prophetic ministry; and , (4) The angel
Gabriel told him of his ministry and hands him the Quran. Who were Muhammad's
first supposed converts? Genies! Yes, Muhammad supposedly preached to and
converted genies in Suras 46:29-35; 72:1-28. How convenient that there was
no one around to confirm his prophethood. (see: http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/islam.htm)

6)
Islam uses Jihad (holy war) to force religion. The Hadith (another "holy"
book of Islam) says that Jihad, or holy war, is the second best thing to believing
in Allah and his apostle (Muhammad). Allah's apostle was asked, "What is the
best deed?" He replied, "To believe in Allah and his Apostle." The
questioner then asked, "What is the next?" He replied, "To
participate in Jihad in Allah's cause." (Hadith vol. 1, no. 25).

7)
The Quran requires violence. Sura 9:5 says, "Fight and slay the pagans
wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for
them in every strategem of war." Sura 5:33 records what is done to
infidels who resist Islam: "Their punishment is...execution, or crucifixion,
or the cutting off of hands and feet from the opposite sides, or exile from
the land." Muhammad also burned out eyes with hot irons (Hadith vol.
1, no. 234) and deprived people of water until they died (vol. 8, no. 796).

8)
Women are treated bad in Islam. Let's look at the Quran, Sura 4:34: "Men
are the managers of the affairs of women...Those you fear may be rebellious--admonish;
banish them to their couches and beat them."